(Topeka, Kansas) - Published each January, the latest progress report on Foresight 2020, the ten-year strategic agenda for the state’s public higher education system, was released today and is available online at: http://www.kansasregents.org/foresight2020.

Foresight 2020 addresses three strategic goals:

Increase Higher Education Attainment Among Kansans

Improve Alignment of the State's Higher Education System with the Needs of the Economy

Ensure State University Excellence

Highlights from this year’s progress report include a slight increase in the number of certificates and degrees awarded, improved on-time graduation rates at state universities, increased retention rates systemwide, and continued improvement in the transition of students from adult education programs to postsecondary education. Average wages one year after graduation appear to be up across all award types compared to the previous year, and the system continues to produce the number of graduates required to meet the needs of Kansas in many of the high-demand fields identified by the Kansas Department of Labor.

Alongside the published report are appendices providing institution-level data for a variety of metrics, including graduation and retention rates, race/ethnicity demographics, and each university’s comparison to peers on select metrics. The Kansas Higher Education Reporting System has also been updated with new interactive data sets reviewing institution-level data on the number of awards granted (credential production), student success index rates, and employment and wage data for graduates working in Kansas, available at: http://stats.kansasregents.org.

Also made available this month is the 2017 State University Data Book, which provides over fifty tables of data addressing areas such as operating expenditures, tuition expenditures, student enrollment (including residency, gender, age, and ACT scores, among other things), faculty positions and salaries, and facility utilization: http://www.kansasregents.org/data/system_data/higher_education_data_books. The 2017 Technical College Data Book and Washburn Data Book have also been published, and a Community College Data Book will be published in February 2017.

Kansas DegreeStats (www.ksdegreestats.org) was signed into state law in 2016 and currently displays cost and earnings data by degree program for the seven public universities in Kansas. Launched earlier this year, Kansas is the only state in the nation to provide prospective students data on the actual costs experienced by graduates in this way, and provides the only resource available which combines degree-level cost and earnings data in one place. The tool will expand by July 1, 2017 to include program offerings that lead to an associate’s degree across our 26 two-year public colleges in Kansas. “Transparent access to these data will help students and their parents make informed decisions,” stated Blake Flanders, President of the Kansas Board of Regents.

For more information, contact Breeze Richardson at (785) 430-4237 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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About the Kansas Board of Regents:The nine-member Kansas Board of Regents is the governing board of the state’s six universities and the statewide coordinating board for the state’s 32 public higher education institutions (six state universities, one municipal university, nineteen community colleges, and six technical colleges). In addition, the Board administers the state’s student financial aid, adult education, high school equivalency, and career and technical education programs. Private proprietary schools and out-of-state institutions are authorized by the Kansas Board of Regents to operate in Kansas.